Nintendo Exec: Two Reasons Why Switch Won't Fail Like Wii U

Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime says the company has identified two major reasons why the Wii U failed, and won't make the same mistakes with the Switch.

By now, everyone knows that the Wii U vastly under-performed, selling only 13 million units in its lifetime, compared to the original Wii's 100 million. Nintendo is adamant on not making the same mistakes with its upcoming console, the Switch, and Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime explains to GameSpot exactly what those mistakes were, and how it plans on avoiding them this time around.

Fils-Amie says that there were two main reasons the Wii U failed. First, Nintendo did not effectively communicate the novelty of the system, which uses a tablet-like controller to enable different gameplay experiences. The second one, which should be obvious to most gamers, is that there simply wasn't a steady flow of compelling games for the system.

"Nintendo Switch is a home console you can play anywhere, with anyone. Clear. Compelling," Fils-Aime said, addressing the first "mistake" of the Wii U. "We see the reaction by consumers whether it's measured in Twitter trending topics or views of videos on YouTube or just the frequency with which I get called by old high school buddies that I haven't heard from in 30 years who are asking me how to get their hands on Nintendo Switch. We have communicated the proposition clearly and it is compelling."

As for the second point, Fils-Aime says it is deliberately spacing out its games this time around. The Wii U launched with 23 titles, while the Switch will launch with just five, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It will then trickle out games at a more steady pace, with titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe due in April, Splatoon 2 comes out during the summer, and Super Mario Odyssey this holiday.